Change speed gear



Jan. 1 6, 1934.

L. QUEVRAIN ET AL CHANGE SPEED GEAR Filed Feb. 6, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet lL EKOA/ Jan. 16, 1934. L. QUEVRAIN ET AL 11,943,396

CHANGE SPEED GEAR Filed Feb. 6, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I /NVENTOE5 A EONOUEV/PA/N PoL r75 8 y 005 l/AFA) Patented Jan. 16, 1934 CHANGE SPEEDGEAR Lon Quevrain and Hippolyte Qucvrain, Paris,

I France Application February 6, 1932, Serial No. 591,374, and in FranceFebruary 12, 1931 2 Claims.

The subject of the present invention is a novel change speed devicewhich permits a movement of rotation at constant speed to be transformedinto a movement of rotation at intermediate speeds comprised betweenzero and the maximum possible speed, without friction, withoutdeclutching, and by simply operating a hand wheel or a lever.

In the drawings accompanying the present description, Figure 1 shows alongitudinal section through the apparatus, Figure 2 is a cross sectionof the apparatus, and Figure 3 shows another longitudinal section.Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 show enlarged details of the apparatus.

The device forming the subject of the present invention chieflycomprises a casing 1 having a bed plate at its lower part and arectangular cavity at its upper part. The casing 1 is closed at eachside by two circular covers 2 and 3 at- 20 tached to the casing 1 bytheir circumference. The covers 2 and 3 are perforated at their centre.These perforations form bearings for the driving shaft 4 passing throughthe cover 2 and the driven shaft 5 passing through the cover 3.

Inside the casing 1 and towards the cover 2 is situated an externallytoothed crown 6 adapted to turn in the casing. This crown 6 carries acertain number of sleeves 7, for example eight, arranged concentricallyat equal distances apart. At the centre of the crown 6 and rigid with itis located a sleeve 8 serving as a second bearing for the driving shaft4.

The driving shaft 4 is rotated at constant speed by a pulley, clutchcoupling, or other member mounted outside the casing 1.

At the end of the inner part of the driving shaft 4 is keyed a crankplate 9. Upon the crank pin of this plate is freely mounted a sleeve 10comprising a central groove and pierced with a number of holes equal tothe number of sleeves on the crown 6 (eight in the example shown in thedrawings). These holes are pierced on the plates on either side of thegroove in the sleeve 10 and are arranged concentrically at equaldistances apart.

In these holes are situated pins 11 servng as pivots for links 12 whichare connected at their other end by pins 13 to the levers 14.

The levers 14, shown in detail in Figures 7, 8 50 and 9, carry at oneend a trunnion which can turn freely in the sleeves '7 of the crown 6,and at the other end have a notch 15 pierced with holes which receivethe pins 13 of the links 12. On the side opposite the trunnion 13 issituated a rectangular notch 16.

(Cl. 74-54) i In the casing 1 and near the cover 3 are mounted twocrowns 17 and 18 provided with sleeves 19 equal in number and spacedsimilar to the sleeves 7 in the crown 6, that is to say, eight in thepresent example.

At the centre of the crown 17 and rigid with it is located a sleeve 20serving as a second bearing for the driven shaft 5.

The two crowns 17 and 18 are secured to the casing 1 by means of pins 21and 22 in such a manner that the sleeves 19 face each other.

In the sleeves 19 are freely mounted the trunnions of the driven levers23 shown in detail in Figures 4, 5 and 6. These levers 23 each carry apin 24 receiving a roller 25 which turns freely and engages freely andwithout clearance in the rectangular groove 16 formed in the levers 14.

On the trunnions of the dogs 23 are keyed the ratchets 26. Pinions 2'7turn freely on the trunnions of the levers 23 and carry a side plate 28which receives the pivots of the pawls 29 and the pins for the pawlsprings 30.

Referring to Figure 6 in the drawings, it will be seen that, when one ofthe levers 23 is given an angular movement in the direction of the arrowshown in the drawings, this lever, by means of the ratchet 26, willdrivethe pawls 29 and consequently the pinion 27 will be carried along by thepivots of these pawls. For a movement in the opposite direction to thearrow the pawls will slide over the teeth of the ratchet 26 and willleave the pinion 27 free.

A hand wheel 31 is mounted onthe casing and drives a worm 32 meshingwith the toothed crown 6 for the purpose of giving this crown andconsequently the dogs 13 a certain angular displacement. This angulardisplacement is limited by screw stops not shown, in order to preventthe rollers 25 of the levers 23 from disengaging from the grooves 16and-from the levers 14.

The movement of the driving shaft 4 is transmitted to the driven shaft 5in the following manner:

When the driving shaft 4 turns in the direction of the arrows shows inFigure 3, the crank pin of the plate 9 will transmit, through the links12, an angular reciprocating movement of constant amplitude to thelevers 14.

The rollers 25 of the levers 23 engaged in the groove 16 of the levers14 will transmit this angular movement to the levers 23.

The angular movement of the levers 23 will vary in magnitude. accordingto the distance of the rollers 25 from the centres of the levers 14.

Further, when the angular movement of the levers 23 returns the end ofthese levers carrying the rollers 25 towards the centre of the ap--paratus, this movement will engage the pawls of the ratchets 26 so as todrive the pinions .27. These pinions 27 engage with the central gear 33and thus communicate a movement of rotation to the driven shaft 5 uponwhich this gear wheel 33 is keyed.

During the angular return movement of the levers towards the upper partof the apparatus,

the pawls slide over the teeth of the ratchets 26.

Consequently the central gear 33 keyed upon the driven shaft issuccessively driven by the planet wheels 27 and the speed of this driveincreases when the rollers 25 are further from the centre of the levers14. The movement of the shaft 5 is annulled when'the rollers 25 areopposite the centres of the levers 14, thisposition of the rollers 25with respect to the casing carrying the levers 14 being controlled andregulated by means of the toothed crown 6 actuated by the worm 32 andhand wheel 31.

Thus for a given position of the crown wheel 6 the shaft 4 will transmitto the shaft 5 a movement of rotation the speed of which, for a givenmachine, will be a function of the distance of the rollers 25 from thecentre of the levers 14. This speed will be maintained as long as thedistance of these rollers from the centre of the levers 14 is notaltered by operating the worm 32. K

By increasing the distance of these rollers 25, the speed will increase,and by reducing this distance the speed will fall until it becomes zerovwhen the rollers 25 are at the centre of the levers 14, and it willremain zero as long as the worm 32 is left untouched.

This control arrangement thus permits the movement of rotation atconstant speed of a driving shaft to .be transmitted to a driven shaftthe speed of which can be varied from the possible maximum down to zeroat will.

This variation in speed of the driven shaft is obtained without shockand in a strictly progressive manner from zero to the possible maximum,and in a gradually decreasing manner from the possible maximum to zero.

The provision of a fluid tight casing permits the mechanical parts ofthe device to be constantly lubricated.

The principle of mechanical control described above can be applied toall machines, part of machines or mechanical parts requiring a variationof any kind in speed.

Modifications of details may be made in the construction of the devicewithout altering the mechanical principle of control of the variation ofspeed described and claimed in the present description.

What we claim is:

1. A variable ratio drive-comprising a driving shaft and a driven shaft,a crown arranged concentrically about and provided with a central sleevebearing and rotatable on the driving shaft and bearing a ring of equallyspaced pivots, a crank pin on the free end of the driving shaft and aplate on this pin, driving levers pivotally connected at their outerends to the equally spaced pivots and having their inner ends pivotallyconnected by links to the plate on the crank pin, a ring of shaftsarranged concentrically about the driven shaft and each carrying apinion meshing with a central toothed wheel keyed on this shaft, drivenlevers secured at one end to the said pinion shafts and having at theirother ends a pin and a sliding pivotal connection between the drivinglevers and the pins on the driven levers, and means whereby the pinionsare locked on their shafts for one direction of rotation and are free ontheir shafts for the opposite direction of rotation.

2. A variable ratio drive comprising a casmg, covers closing the twoopen ends of the casing, and shaft bearings at the center of thesecovers, a driving shaft passing through one of these hearings anexternally toothed crown turning freely on this driving shaft, a drivenshaft carried in the other bearing and carried at its free end insidethe casing in a bearing formed in a fixed crown rigid with the casing, anumber of equally spaced sleeves formed in the periphery of the toothedcrown and a trunnion mounted in each sleeve and carrying at its end aslotted driving lever, a crank pin on the free end of the driving shaft,a plate on this pin and a number of equally spaced links connected atone end to this plate and at the other end to the free ends of thedriving levers, a number of bearings formed concentrically in the fixedcrown, shafts freely mounted in these bearings, and bearing at theirends driven levers having pins engaging slidably and. pivotally in theslots in the driving levers, pinions on these shafts and a toothed wheelmounted on the driven shaft and meshing with these pinions, and meanswhereby the pinions are locked on their shafts for one direction ofrotation and are free on their shafts for the opposite direction ofrotation.

LEON QUEVRAIN. HIPPOLYTE QUEVRAIN.

